USA, IL: Cary Ale House and Brewing Company wants to start brewing its own beer

People may soon be able to sip locally brewed beer in Cary, the Northwest Herald reported on July 22.

Cary Ale House and Brewing Company wants to start brewing its own beer and plans to expand to a vacant storefront adjacent to the restaurant. The restaurant occupies half the retail space in the building located at 200 to 208 W. Main St. More than $215,000 worth of renovations are planned, which includes construction and equipment costs, according to village documents.

Restaurant owners Chris Panagakis and Dustin Davies are seeking a $60,000 loan from the village’s revolving loan fund in order to partially contribute to the project, which they said will help make their restaurant a destination spot.

Revolving loans are incentive tools that municipalities can use to help new or existing businesses with projects that will create jobs by offering a low-interest loan. Cary Ale House anticipates adding between five and seven jobs after the expansion, according to village documents.

Since Panagakis and Davies opened the gastropub in 2015, they had planned to include a brewery, but renovation costs on the existing building were more than expected so the project was pushed back, according to village documents. The restaurant has served locally brewed beer in the past and it has sold well, and now the owners want to move forward with the venture.

Village officials heard the request at the July 18 Committee of the Whole meeting and were largely supportive of the plan. The Cary Village Board will take action on the item at its next meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 1 at Cary Village Hall, 655 Village Hall Drive.

“This to me is the perfect reason why we have a revolving loan,” Trustee Ellen McAlpine said. “This is exactly what we want to do – help a business grow within our community. … I think it will make it a nice destination for people to be able to hop off the train and come over and check [it] out.”

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